"UC Community, Over the past week it has become clear that the University of California systemwide monogram recently created is a source for great debate, dialogue, and division. In short, it's too much of a distraction from our broader effort to communicate UC's value and vital contributions to Californians, and so we intend to suspend use of the new monogram. We will begin to take the steps required to do so. This will not happen overnight in all case, but we are committed to doing so.

Without diving too deep into the commentary of the past week, there are a few things that remain clear—the UC community is passionate in its support of the system as a whole, believes any new directions should reflect the tradition, prestige and import of both higher education broadly and UC specifically, and wants want to be engaged in an open, collaborative dialogue and process. We commit to respecting that feedback in determining a path forward as these issues are revisited.

It's my hope that some of the passion displayed through this site and other social channels can be turned to adding important voices to the cause of sharing stories of success and breakthrough that the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and broad UC community have every day in making California (and the world) better. It's a way for us to stay engaged and honor the dialogue you have requested. If you're willing, please join us by following UC on Facebook or by joining the UC for California advocacy network.

Best,

Jason Simon Director, Marketing Communications

University of California | Office of the President"

_______________________________________________________

THIS AFFECTS ALL UC CAMPUSES! The newly designed monogram of the University of California, while attempting to be modern, loses the prestige and elegance of the current seal.

So far complacent and dismissive response of UCOP is essentially just telling us we just don't understand. We DO understand the new logo is not replacing the seal on formal communications, however it will be used to identify the UC system on a broad scale, and this new logo is not acceptable.

Please let your voice be heard and sign this petition to stop the identification of the University of California with the new monogram, and ask the Regents, Director of UC Marketing Jason Simon, and President Mark Yudof for an alternative solution.

Thank you everyone. You have shown so much passion and our voices are being heard. I would also like to remind all of us to please be respectful of each others opinions. The vitriol and personal attacks being sent to some of the team that helped to design the new monogram is not okay. They care deeply about the university and are greatly invested in ensuring its success. They don’t deserve anger, threats and insults directed at them.

Let us all strive to be positive in our discourse and continue to hold fruitful constructive discussions.

"First and foremost, we are gratified to see so many people who care passionately about the University of California. Feedback, and dialogue, are essential in a university setting and we are paying attention. While doing so, it's important that we provide some more context to people who are coming to this issue completely cold. This is not an either/or situation — we are not trading in the seal for the new mark. The seal will continue to be used to represent the UC system. Additionally, this does not replace or take the place of any campus identities.

The new mark was created as a part of our broader efforts to build awareness and support for all the things that UC does to make California (and by extension the world) better. What we have tried to do is to create a mark that is iconic, flexible, and solid enough that it works to represent the UC system as a whole. The mark can be used in a combination of the various UC blues and golds as well as in a multitude of applications. Seals are wonderful and carry a legacy and tradition. They also signify bureaucracy, staidness, and other not-so-great characteristics. Much of this was evident in the testing and discussion we did as part of the process.

Our challenge is to represent not only the work done on our campuses but also in UC medical centers, agriculture and natural resources efforts, research centers, K-12 preparation and outreach efforts, and even things such as overseeing the state’s 4H program or the University of California Press. And, of course, the longstanding impact of our alumni. People experience the results of these efforts every day but the University receives little recognition for them. This is the message of our Onward California campaign. Much of that is visible if people want to visit http://www.onwardcalifornia.com. There are amazing examples of the ways that UC touches people’s lives every day and we are proud that so many people have visited the site or taken part in outreach efforts over the last several months.

Our students, alumni, faculty and staff have all done a terrific job in raisingtheir voices in support of UC and higher education. We know that we share a common goal of ensuring that the great work UC does is valued by as many people as possible.

We sincerely intend to listen to this feedback and respect what we are hearing."

The overwhelmingly negative response to the recent change to the University of California logo demands immediate attention. In the materials posted on the University of California, Office of the President website about the recent rebranding effort speaks about improving communications and better connecting to the University of California audience.

Clearly the new logo for the University, even in its limited use, has backfired. [ suspect that, had the team leading this project reached out in the spirit of communication and audience building this unfortunate gaffe could have been avoided.

I applaud the attempts to "relatinch(ed) the online home for the University of California Office of the President with a new design, improved search, consistent navigation and a clearer picture of how the Office of the President is organized." However, it appears the new logo fails to respect the history and the prestige of University of California En only a few days, almost 50,000 students, alumni and Californians across the state believe so strongly that the logo fails to represent the institution they are so proud of, they have signed a petition calling for its removal.

It bears noting that tuition at the University of California has more than doubled in recent years, access is being limited and students are incurring more debt than any other time in history. Perhaps now is the time to return to the use of the old logo and allow the University community a cooling off period to concentrate on the long-term health of the University.

Instead of being creative with the University of California logo, we should be searching for creative solutions for funding the University of California.

Respectfully,

GAVIN NEWSOM Lieutenant Governor"

_______________________________________________________

Letter to

President of the University of CaliforniaMark Yudof

The Regents OfficeUniversity of California

Director, Marketing Communications of the University of CaliforniaJason Simon

We the students, alumni, professors, and concerned supporters of The University of California strongly urge you to reconsider the changing the identity of the University to the newly designed logo.

While the UC seal will continue to be used for formal systemwide communications, this new logo aspires to become the primary identifier of the University. The creation of a coherent, consistent, and relevant brand identity is not accomplished as this new logo does not represent the stature and honor of the University of California.

We feel that the new logo no longer resonates with the University's values or prestige. We ask that you do not use the newly designed monogram and state your intent to keep the current seal as the identifier of the UC system for all purposes or look for an alternative solution, in order to continue respecting the spirit of the collective University of California campuses and those who support it.